Monday, December 8, 2008

Chicken and dumplings! Finally! I don't know why it took me so long to make this----it was terribly easy, and very tasty. Thank you so much for all of the recipes that were sent in. This is a compilation of recipes from Tamara, Kimberley, Danette, and Renee. Thank you!

--1 can refrigerated biscuits, or one batch drop biscuits (I used Pamela's Baking Mix, and used the drop-biscuit recipe listed on the back of the bag)

The Directions.

I used a 6.5 quart crockpot. Anything 4 quarts and up will work. Put the chicken and vegetables into the bottom of the crockpot. Add the cream-of soups, or your homemade substitute. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-5. I cooked ours on high for 4 hours, and on low for another two. An hour before serving, shred chicken with two large forks, and drop in the biscuit dough.

Cover and cook on high for another hour. The bisquits are done when you can insert a knife and it comes out clean. They will be spongey and will brown a bit on the sides and top.

Serve in bowls, with a biscuit or two per person.

The Verdict.

Delicious. I've never had chicken and dumplings before, and really enjoyed this a lot. Adam and I each had two bowls. Dinner wasn't ready until almost 7, so the kids ended up eating leftovers. My four-year-old thought it looked weird, so fingers are crossed she's feeling adventurous for lunch.

73 comments:

mmmmm chicken and dumplings. I was going to make meat loaf for supper but have read three different chicken and dumpling recipe posts this morning so I am going to make those instead. I can honestly say that is the first time I've heard it called soup.

Why have I never thought to make those in the crockpot? Chicken and Dumplings are a favorite at our house, I've made them by scratch, can biscuits and even cut up flour tortillas. Thanks for the crockpot inspiration.

I think in the South, generally, they are made thicker than your recipe. Most restaurants around here actually serve them on plates. Or at least the ones I've ordered them from. I'm not one to care what it's called as long as it tastes good. :-D

My boyfriend makes a wonderful chicken and dumplings on the stove and he does not use any "cream of" soup or dairy. He just uses chicken broth and the starch boiling out of the biscuits makes the broth thick and "creamy". As good as that is, I can't wait to try this with the homemade "cream of" soup for the extra flavor. I would much rather make something in the crockpot than on the stove if possible!

We're from the south too, and in our house it's more like dumplings & chicken...I usually just pinch off the biscuit in half dollar size chucks, that'a way the kids get more of the other stuff with every bite of dumplin'. :) When I make it it's always more of a really thick stew and not soup...I have had it that way and it tastes great but I prefer the thick sauce...If your a real food lover like me I plop all that yummy goodness on top of MORE biscuits from the oven and it's carbohydrate HEAVEN! LOVE THE WEBSITE BTW!!

I have a question - I simmered apple cider in my crock pot with spices. It was delicious, but I forgot to turn it off when we were done, and in the morning my crock pot was a blackened mess. I've cleaned off most of it, but there is still an inch-wide blackened ring around the center of the pot that has resisted soaking in soapy water, and also a watered down vinegar soak. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks!

Hi Kacie,can you run it through the dishwasher? If not, soak over night with a fabric softener sheet, then rinse really well. If you still have some discoloration, go ahead and use it to make something with tomatoes. The acid in the tomatoes should get rid of any further residue.

Quick question (I want to make this!): there's no milk or water in the recipe, but I can't imagine there not being any, and then I saw milk in the picture. Do you just use the soups? How does it get "runnier" (for lack of a better word)?

Hi Madhouse Wife, I used my own cream-of substitute, but the original recipes called for the cream-of soups without any additional liquid. The chicken and vegetables will release liquid to add to the broth.xoxsteph

YUM! I haven't had dumplings since I was a kid, but my mom just gave me a recipe for homemade ones a couple of weeks ago. I haven't tried them because I wasn't sure how / what I wanted to make with them (for the soup part). Your description sounds so delicious and easy! I'm going to try it! Thank you! :)Susan

So what was the verdict from the kids when they did try it? (Sorry, I have two little ones, picky as can be and I like trying recipes that appeal to other kids). I also wanted to thank you for posting about make ahead mashed potatoes. I used your suggestions this year and everythign worked out wonderfully! It was great having perfectly warmed mashed potatoes, ready to go on the table without the fuss of making it the day of.This was the first year I did so much make ahead stuff for thanksgiving - everything was wonderful and I was so much more relaxed that day!

So, I made this yesterday, and it came out AWESOME! I only had 1 can of cream of something, so I made the other from a bechamel/velouté and poultry seasoning, like you mentioned.

There was so much flavor in this, it blew my socks off! I honestly didn't think there would be THIS much flavor, as there wasn't really any spices added (except for in the soup) . The only thing I did differently was put some of these tater-tot rounds in it, because no one was eating them and I didn't want them to go to waste. You couldn't even tell that they were there because they broke down. It was thick and exactly what I wanted. I also didn't have buttermilk for the drop biscuits, so I had to use a substitution--1/2c milk 1/2TB vinegar sitting for 10 mins--which worked/tasted great! I was really surprised with that also.

Our apartment smelled like KFC, no joke! It didn't taste like it though (way better but we fans of that place to begin with) but my hubby joked that we cracked their secret ingredient (tater tots)! It could have been the biscuits though... *shrugs*

Anyway, I'm adding this to my "crowd pleaser" recipes, and will make this when I want to impress someone--well Gerry (my father-in-law's best friend who lives close by), but he is easy to please--but he talks about it for weeks! lol.

Sooo I made this tonight. And then I double checked your instructions... see, my biscuits didn't cook so great. In fact, after 2 1/2 hrs., we finally ate french toast, I took the lid to the crock off, and turned the oven on (to scrape the biscuits off and bake them). Before the oven was done preheating, however, I realized the biscuits were starting to cook. So I finished them up with the lid off. Sooo long story short, haven't eaten any yet; will put in fridge and heat for dinner tomorrow. Next time I will probably just bake the biscuits separate in the oven. Everything smells really great, though, and it was SUPER easy!

I'm making this now, and wonder if you put in frozen chicken that was STILL frozen? I defrosted thighs and it seems like it can't possibly take the last 2 hours. I also used bone-in thighs. I know some people like boneless & skinless, but IMHO the taste is so much better if you keep the bone in.

I love Chicken and Dumplings, but never thought about making it a crockpot! Thanks for the inspiration! I am planning on making it while my inlaws are here for the holidays. Could you tell me about how many serving it makes?

Another serving suggestion - on top of mashed potatoes! Yummy goodness!

I love your website and I am sad to discover it at the end of the year. Thanks for the ideas!

Do you think I can use Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten-Free flour instead of the Pamela's? The Pamela's I've found here contains buttermilk, and I can't have dairy.

Growing up my dad made the best chicken and dumplings. We always had the big floating Bisquick biscuits on top. And, we thicken it with instant mashed potatoes. We also just use frozen mixed veggies. Hehe.

The last time I made chicken & dumplings I wondered if it could be done in the Crockpot. I wasn't sure about the dumplings. With the cold weather (it's currently 28 degrees here)this will be great. Thank you!

this is so good. I don't like it when the chicken and dumplings is brothy. It needs creaminess and this is perfect. Plus it is so messy on the stove. As an aside, my favorite favorite tool to shred stuff now is the Mix and Chop by Pampered Chef. I don't sell the stuff or own much of it but that little baby has helped me so much with ground beef, chicken, pork whatever. By all means buy a knock off if you see one b/c $9.50 is ridiculous for a black piece of plastic but it really is awesome. http://www.pamperedchef.com/our_products/catalog/product.jsp?productId=15658&categoryCode=CW

I made this tonight it was great! I started throwing it all together before I read the comments I added 1 can of milk to the 2 cans of soup. (Before I read the comments) It did turn out super liquidy but I ladled it out boiled it down and added corn starch and four to make it in to gravy. Its what I made the biscuits with and it was YUMMY! I have just recently stumbled on to your blog and it's great. This is the first thing I have made so far and I will be back!

Thank you for this recipe. I just discovered your site and wanted to make a chicken recipe that was different than the norm. This was perfect, especially with the idea of the homemade cream soup. I liked that you suggested soy milk because I keep kosher and can't use regular milk with meat/chicken.

I ended up not doing the dumpling part and putting in matza balls instead. Over a bed of rice this was a delicious and nutritious meal, and different from the norm!

I make Chicken and Dumplings using a Rotissary Chick already cooked from the store. But, have never made in a Crockpot. Will def. try this one !. But, never put veggies in Chick. & Dumplins..here that would be called Chicken Pot Pie. Thanks for recipe !

I made this last night and it came out great! All it needed was a tiny bit of salt and some pepper for a little extra flavor. I even pulled up a simple drop biscuit recipe and was able to make them from scratch! It was so ridiculously easy to prepare and the house smelled incredible while it was cooking. We had enough for two bowls each between my husband and I, with probably about 1.5 bowls left over. Another successful crock pot endeavor!

I just discovered your blog a few weeks ago and it has just changed my life. I am busy running a bed and breakfast and don't have much time to prepare any more meals other than breakfast. Now that I have found this website I dusted off my crock pot that hadn't been used for 3 1/2 years and it has been going non stop. I even had to go and buy another Crock-Pot to keep up. It has changed my life and I am eating much healthier now thanks to you. I have made this recipe twice and I love it. I made the soup mixture but I also added the cream of chicken soup and it makes it thick which I like. Thanks.

I'm planning to use precooked turkey meat. Is there any modification that you would make other than length of time? Thanks for your recipes. Most crockpot sites are full of dairy and stew meat and those are just not our family's style.

I'm glad you liked the sweet potatoes! We had them on Thanksgiving, too.

If you're using pre-cooked turkey, all you really need to do is cook long enough for the onion to become tender and the flavors to meld a bit. I'd think 4 hours on low or 2 hours on high is probably plenty, depending on how quickly your slow cooker gets up to speed.

if you're home to monitor, check after a few hours and judge from there. I'm not a big rule follower, and poke and prod and lift the lid lots on my slow cookers while they're working. :-)

Stephanie - I made this tonight and it turned out awesome! I swear, I love every recipe on this blog! I've directed about 20 of my friends here and a couple of them have bought your cookbook too! I'm a new mom, and my crockpot and your site have been a lifesaver for us. Thanks! Happy to see so much success coming to you!

Thanks for all of these yummy recipes! I just tried this chicken and dumplings recipe tonight and the flavor is marvelous! I did the homemade soup version, rather than the "cream-of-something-soup" version. My husband won't go near anything that has "cream-of-something-soup" in it. Thank you for the alternate suggestion!

It's a rainy day and this is almost ready. I'm making it today for the second time-- sooo good! Perfect comfort food. I recommend using thighs and then following the instructions for making your own "cream of" sauce. Excellent and easy-- thanks AGAIN!

I made this today! I stupidly used a new crockpot so the cooking time was off... but it turned out great! I just had a little stick to the bottom and sides because I cooked too long in a new pot! My family loved this, and soooo easy! Thank you!

I used dried parsley and dill, and also added garlic and onion powder--YUM!

I have to admit, though, I am kinda ticked off at Bisquick--they charge and ARM AND A LEG for the gf mix--and all it is is rice flour, potato starch, baking powder, salt, and sugar. And xanthan gum. I could mix that up by myself for a lot less. "Normal" Bisquick has shortening in it, but not gf, for some reason.

This was amazing!! I used white spelt flour and made a double batch baking powder biscuits to go with them. I just baked them and we crumbled them into the soup as we ate and it was wonderful. A very potpie kinda chicken taste. I'm dairy free so this was really a treat for me!